Diodati selected to preseason All-SEC team

Great Lake Canadians and Junior National Team alum Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.), of the Alabama Crimson Tide, has been selected to the preseason All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second team. Photo: Alabama Baseball/Twitter

February 11, 2021

By Alex Thompson

University of Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama’s Connor Prielipp and Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.) were selected to the 2021 Preseason All-Southeastern Conference Baseball teams, the league office announced on Thursday.

Prielipp was named a first-team honoree at starting pitcher while Diodati was tabbed a second-teamer at outfielder.

In addition to the all-conference honors, the Crimson Tide was selected to finish 11th overall in the SEC, as voted on by the league coaches. Florida was selected as the league champion, receiving 12 first-place votes, with Mississippi State and Vanderbilt each receiving one first-place vote.

First Team All-SEC

Connor Prielipp, Starting Pitcher

-Tabbed as a 2021 preseason first team All-American by three separate outlets

-Put together an impressive freshman season that earned him D1Baseball.com’s “Top Freshman Pitcher” honours at the end of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign

-Finished with a 3-0 record and totalled 21 innings across his four starts as a freshman

-Tallied 35 strikeouts with only six walks to lead the SEC in WHIP at 0.52

-Allowed the fewest earned runs (0) and hits (5) in the league

-Gave up just 2.14 hits per nine innings to lead the conference and rank third nationally while limiting the opposition to an SEC-low .077 average

Second Team All-SEC

Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.), Outfielder

-Wrapped up 2020 with 22 RBI and a .673 slugging percentage to lead all freshmen hitters in the SEC

-Also added five home runs and 13 walks to tie for the league lead among first-year players

-Tied for third in RBI and seventh in home runs across all league hitters before the season was cut short

-Finished as Alabama’s leader in RBI while ranking second in home runs

-Picked up SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honours after an impressive Opening Weekend that saw the Canadian total six hits – five of which went for extra-bases – while adding eight RBI, six runs and four walks against Northeastern